[Audiowood]

I used my Sony JA50ES MD-deck as a 20-bit DAC for my AK100II using optical. The output is connected to the Little Dot MKIII tube amplifier. The Shure SE846 is connected to the MKIII. The sound is pretty amazing.

 
Beautiful MD player. Really love Sony vintage stuff, lots of metal and buttons..

 

[sonickarma]

Vinnie had posted the mod for the ak120ii

He also does the mod for the AK100ii (RWAK100ii) as mine was the first one he did, I suspect he will be putting the option on his site soon

 

[mba3243]

So tempted to pull the trigger for the RWAK120II mod. My only reservation is i've never had a RW upgrade before. I know they come highly praised, but do you guys think it would be worth the extra $500? 
 
For what its worth, my AK120II is paired with AKG 3003 iems.

 

[mike7898]

So as I stated in a few post back,I will be getting the ak100ii, I was curious what company whould you recommend buying it from, I live in the Philadelphia area and been looking at Amazon, and moon audio,or iriver, comparing shipping cost and best trusting company, Would you recommend Amazon? Or others that I had mention..Thanks I also notice that some are in blue, I thought they are all silver which I want,not blue..Also were can I find the gray cases for the ak100ii, can't seem to find em?
Mike

 

[audiofrk]

He also does the mod for the AK100ii (RWAK100ii) as mine was the first one he did, I suspect he will be putting the option on his site soon

Whoa cool. 2 questions
Any word why he didn't consider a line out mod?

Have you ever had a chance to compare the rwak100 ii to the stock ak240? Or any other rw mods?

 

[cjfreitag]

I've got one of these on order and have a couple of questions for current users.
 
First, If I have memory card already formatted and loaded with music folders, will the AK120ii read that folder correctly? Or do I need to transfer music to the folder using the transfer utility?
 
Second, can someone explain to me what burn-in is all about? I understand the concept--after a certain number of hours of playing the unit will reveal its best sound. But I don't understand the underlying mechanics of this. What is actually changing in the components?
 
The only comparison I can think of is guitars (I'm a classical guitarist). A new guitar built with a solid spruce top will sound very different after it has been played for 6 months or two years. But in the case of the guitar there is an actual physical change that takes place in both the wood and the finish the explains the change in sound.
 
What are the physical/chemical changes in chips and circuits that have the same kind of result?

 

[Audiowood]

  I've got one of these on order and have a couple of questions for current users.
 
First, If I have memory card already formatted and loaded with music folders, will the AK120ii read that folder correctly? Or do I need to transfer music to the folder using the transfer utility?
 
Second, can someone explain to me what burn-in is all about? I understand the concept--after a certain number of hours of playing the unit will reveal its best sound. But I don't understand the underlying mechanics of this. What is actually changing in the components?
 
The only comparison I can think of is guitars (I'm a classical guitarist). A new guitar built with a solid spruce top will sound very different after it has been played for 6 months or two years. But in the case of the guitar there is an actual physical change that takes place in both the wood and the finish the explains the change in sound.
 
What are the physical/chemical changes in chips and circuits that have the same kind of result?

 
1) Yes Ak120ii will read the folder correctly. Just make sure the files are tagged. Just drag and drop folder into AK120ii music folder.
 
I will pass on the 2nd and 3rd questions. Subjectively for me, its hard to distiguished between a 50hr, 100hr or 1000hr burn in. I can't tell the diff so far but I believe many people could be able to help explain the diff.

 

[cjfreitag]

   
Just make sure the files are tagged. 

 
Thanks for the reply. Most of my files have been tagged using iTunes (except for the FLAC files). My Logitech Media server is able to interpret them correctly and I get album art, etc. on my network music players, so the file tagging I have now should work. I'm a little confused about the handling of album art; for my ALAC, FLAC, and AAC files the cover art is embedded in the metadata, not usually a separate jpg file in the folder. I've read in a couple of spots that the AK requires the latter.

 

[Audiowood]

   
Thanks for the reply. Most of my files have been tagged using iTunes (except for the FLAC files). My Logitech Media server is able to interpret them correctly and I get album art, etc. on my network music players, so the file tagging I have now should work. I'm a little confused about the handling of album art; for my ALAC, FLAC, and AAC files the cover art is embedded in the metadata, not usually a separate jpg file in the folder. I've read in a couple of spots that the AK requires the latter.

 
I just tried & the embedded cover arts works with AK240. 

 

[b0ssMax]

Thanks for the reply. Most of my files have been tagged using iTunes (except for the FLAC files). My Logitech Media server is able to interpret them correctly and I get album art, etc. on my network music players, so the file tagging I have now should work. I'm a little confused about the handling of album art; for my ALAC, FLAC, and AAC files the cover art is embedded in the metadata, not usually a separate jpg file in the folder. I've read in a couple of spots that the AK requires the latter.

Ive been embedding art in the flac metadata. Works for me. Had some random issues with the original ak120, but no problem in ak240 w/c should be similar to the ak100ii and ak120ii.

 

[asnyc75]

I bought last Friday here in New York the AK100II for $799 at B&H; coming from the AK100 this is a great improvement, really fast, better sound, excellent UI, battery life and in general I am very happy for the price; here is the link. 
 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1064347-REG/astell_kern_ak100_ii_portable_hi_fi_sound_system_smokey.html

 

[mike7898]

I bought last Friday here in New York the AK100II for $799 at B&H; coming from the AK100 this is a great improvement, really fast, better sound, excellent UI, battery life and in general I am very happy for the price; here is the link. 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1064347-REG/astell_kern_ak100_ii_portable_hi_fi_sound_system_smokey.html

I seen that too,IAM ordering one tomorrow, Is it silver? And wow really a $100 less?

 

[Retrias]

Hi, listened to the newly arrived ak100II at a local store. Imo this is better than the calyx or the zx1

 

[asnyc75]

They called it "blue" but it is really a dark silver to my eyes; the pale silver is the AK120II;  spectacular device! not sure why is $100 less....

 

[mikenyc]

I just picked up the ak100ii at B&H.  The 799 price seems to be their normal price.  The staff in the store seemed to know nothing about these.  I fired it up right away and sounds fantastic with the pre-loaded music.  I am having an odd issue inserting the micro SD card.  It is not catching when I push it in.  Anyone else with experiences physically installing the card?
 
Looking forward to the new player.  I have been in listen mode for years now.  Picked up a Stax rig I liked and was not inclined to buy new gear.  Now I am traveling more and want to upgrade my travel set up.  Cheers